New to Irvine Folk Club but with 40 plus years experience between them of playing on the folk scene, Mike Wilson & Damien Barber are the special guests at the Irvine Club on Wednesday 13th February.
Mike is from Teeside and Damien is from Norfolk and are known for their strong harmony singing. The musical background of Mike is very much that of the North East of England where he is a member of the well-known a capella Wilson Family. The family of five singing siblings has a fairly busy gig list and so when not on the road with Damien, Mike can be found on stage with his brothers and sister.
Damien is the driving force behind The Demon Barbers – not so much a folk band, more of a folk roadshow with Clog Dancing, Swords, Hip-Hop and Break dancing all featuring! The core six-strong Demons line-up is led by the distinctive singing of Damien who as well as singing unaccompanied also plays concertina and guitar.
With their respective backgrounds of strong vocals and harmonies, it’s little surprise that Mike and Damien were nominated in The Best Duo category in the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards.They have two albums to their name and somehow manage to juggle a busy gig list with the demands of playing with The Demons and The Wilson Family.
Given the musical pedigrees of Mike and Damien, on Wednesday 13th February at Irvine Folk Club, expect trad and contemporary songs sung by two of the finest voices in the UK folk world. The Club starts at 8pm, it’s BYOB and a good café is available.
Elsewhere, if you are a Fiddler and in London on 24th February, The London Fiddle Convention is on at Cecil Sharp House in Camden.